Below I’ve cross-posted a short blurb with links from the blog
at my day job. Both pieces are very good, but make sure to carve out time before sitting down with the Helprin story from Forbes ASAP. Is is longer than your typical “read at the office” essay or news analysis, but well worth the investment.
Gelertner Does Jacob Bayer
David Gelertner does what he does so well, here. He touches on the idea of opportunity cost as it is applied to learning and information, but in the main he is focused on what an Information Age is all about. Per usual, his essay is thoughtful, mildly provocative and laced with dry observations on contemporary culture. His prediction for an Information Age version of the New Yorker from the 1930s or 1940s is enticing. Later, he comes back to a common theme, education, with this line: Eventually we will get over the idea that playing with computers and the Internet is inherently virtuous. It reminds me one of the most powerful cautionary tales I ever read about Info-Age over-enthusiasm. At the apex of the bubble, Mark Helprin wrote this short story.
Convenient to this entry, Helprin also touches on the marvels of technology, the effect on society and wealth generation, education and children and the religio-historical ties of culture.
